Game 4: No. 2 Baylor 82, No. 5 Illinois 69 – Grades & Player of the Game

Player of the Game: Davion Mitchell – If Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl didn’t have a giant NCAA investigation hovering over his program, letting Mitchell walk from his program as an unhappy player might have been his biggest regret since taking over that job. 

Sure, you give the player of this game to any one of four Baylor guards that registered a double-figure scoring effort or you could give it to Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (who is the name the ESPN crew loved saying over and over and over and over and over) but Mitchell gets the nod because of his ability to not only knock down 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range but also showcased his ability as one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders in forcing the Morgan Park High School duo of Ayo Dosunmu and Adam Miller to painful offensive performances.  

Mitchell’s seven assists also showed how the junior guard was able to calm down a hectic start offensively for the No. 2 Bears (3-0) as both teams suffered from the turnover disease in the first half.

“No, he’s a really good player,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said when asked Wednesday night if Mitchell’s play surprised him. “The only thing he does poorly is free throws. He’s an elite defender. He makes open shots and for whatever reason, he’s a 50-percent free throw shooter. He’s the heart and soul of their team.” 

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Backcourt

Illinois: D

Baylor: B-plus

The only reason this group for the Illini doesn’t get an ‘F’ is the play of freshman Andre Curbelo as he came off the bench to provide a spark on both ends of the floor despite having previously dealt with concussion and ankle injuries throughout last week. Curbelo finished with 11 points, four assists and, maybe most importantly, only one turnover in 16 minutes of action that will likely increase if he continues to value the basketball and prove he can break down whatever perimeter defender is in front of him. Baylor has the best perimeter defenders in the nation and proved it Wednesday night by forcing the combination of Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier and Adam Miller to shoot just 11 of 35 combined and gobbled up nine turnovers from those Illini starting guards. 

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Frontcourt

Illinois: C

Baylor: B

Kofi Cockburn was a near non-factor Wednesday night due to the foul trouble problems that plagued him earlier in his freshman season. This simply can’t happen later this season if the Illini want to become the elite team that everybody thinks they can be. This also can’t happen because Underwood continues to say he wants to play Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Cockburn together at some point. The junior forward gave the Illinois staff a lot to think about in terms of his playing time because of his 13 first-half points allowing the Illini to only be down one point at halftime despite Cockburn leaving with 11 minutes to go. 

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Bench

Illinois: A-minus

Baylor: A

After not getting much production at all from its bench against Ohio, Illinois’ bench is exactly what they needed to keep them within striking distance for about 30 minutes of this game. Curbelo was very much an elite guard and Bezhanishvili showed the post moves that made him infamous in his freshman year. Baylor’s best offensive player was off its bench as Presbyterian transfer Adam Flagler had 11 of his team-high 18 points in the second half to counter the disappearing act of star guard Jared Butler.

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Overall

Illinois: C

Baylor: A-minus

If Baylor defends that way all season, they’ll win another Big 12 Conference regular season title by multiple games. Illinois can’t have nights where Dosunmu can’t get to the rim, Cockburn can’t stay on the floor and Adam Miller can’t find his jump shot. However, Illinois probably had all of its main weapons play terrible Wednesday night in Indianapolis and with 13 minutes left, the game was tied at 43. When you have all of that going against you and you’re still not run off the court, like Illinois was last year at Arizona, at Michigan State and in the first half vs. Miami (Fla.), it’s something to build on in terms knowing your depth is much better than previous years. However, if Illinois plays this way against elite teams, the result of Wednesday night won’t change.